Love is  a Bang
by FinalFate
Summary: [[InoDei]]Ino finds her life in Konoha to be substandard. No one seems to like her, her friends and teammates are too busy with their own love lives to notice her. Shikamaru is spending all this time with Temari.  [[FULL SUMMARY INSIDE]]
1. Running into Fate

'Love is a Bang'

**A/N:** This will be an Ino X Deidara fiction. You don't like the couple, don't read it and waste my time with worthless flames. If you like the couple or are open minded to it, I will try to make it a very good read. Also, I wanted to try writing a fiction in first person, I usually don't write this way, I just wanted to see if it would be a good and fun thing. It might switch between Ino's and Deidara's thoughts.

**Summary**: Ino finds her life in Konoha to be substandard. No one seems to like her, her friends and teammates are too busy with their own love lives to notice her. Shikamaru is spending all this time with Temari. Chouji is god knows where to be found, and her parent's are too busy helping out Shikamaru's parents to even know she exists.

She runs off temporarily, just to clear her head. Someone comes to her and tells her that Konoha was attacked, her parent's where killed, and the invaders have fled in mild victory. It was a Konoha ninja, and he dies in front of her. She cries and then refuses to go back to Konoha; she doesn't want to see her parents bodies and then go to the funeral.

She then finds a ring in her distress, and puts it on teh pnl finger it fits on. Her left thumb. She then comes across Akatsuki and is about to be kileld hen Leader gives her a choice. Join us... Or die.

—

My alarm went off in a dark room, the light blocked by the dark blue curtains. I raised my right hand with the chipped black nail polish turned it off. Then my hand came to my thin face and rubbed my bright blue eyes as I woke up in the early morning. I pulled the sheet off my perfect body; it was warm summer weather and a heavy blanket was unnecessary. I placed my feet on the floor and walked over to the giant mirror mounted on my dresser.

I smiled at the beauty of my own reflection and walked into my own private bathroom which was to the left of my dresser through the large mahogany door. I walked into the bathroom and pulled off my bed cloths and let them fall into the wicker hamper beside the sink. I side stepped to the left and put my hands on the steel facet and turned the two nobs, turning the cold and hot water on.

The water erupted from the facet and started to pour into the tub. I pulled a small tab at the bottom of the tub and the shower heard made a small noise then started to shoot out of it with high pressure. I stepped inside of the shower and ran my hands through my long hair and then over my stomach and shoulders, wiping off some off the dirt.

I had been too tired to bathe when I first came home from training so I just got up early in the morning to do so. It was my usual pre-morning routine. Almost break my alarm in the morning, lay in bed for a while, get up, shower, dress, meet up with Deidara and train for a few hours.

I picked up my shampoo and put it into my hair and lathered it up thickly, running my hands through all of my long hair, washing it evenly. Thankfully, my hair was really long and took a while to wash, but this water made it so much easier to wash out. I loved having long hair, it made me happy.

I picked up my luffa and put my body wash onto it and made it foam by rubbing it. I ran it all over by body and smirked. The water was hot and felt so good against my skin, it was an amazing feeling to be in hot water during the summer.

I closed my eyes as I finished washing myself off and then yawned and washed off my body. The suds ran down my soft skin as the water streamed down and off my body. I ran my hands over my body yo make sure all of it was gone then put conditioner in my hair and let it sit it in my hair for a minute or so and then rinsed it out. This is why my hair looked so good. I washed it perfectly and then conditioned it well.

I pushed the tab down and the water streamed out of the faucet quickly. I turned the nobs and shut the water off and stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself. I walked into my room and proceeded to dry myself off and then smiled and walked over to my dresser once more, a towel around my chest, trailing down to my thighs. My hair wrapped in it's own towel.

I opened the top draw and looked around for a second before I found my black lace silk panties. I took off my towel and threw it onto my bed behind me. I pulled my panties up my legs and put them in place and then put on my bra and sighed. I was tired from yesterday's training. Deidara and Itachi worked me really hard to get me to their level and it was hard to do so.

I close my underwear drawer and then opened another. I pulled out my skin tight black shirt, and put it on. The shirt had spaghetti straps and was rather thin around the top, showing some of the top of my cleavage. The tank-top was short and showed all of my waist. My waist was trim, fit and thin. I was strong and looked desirably sexy.

Closing the previous drawer for another, I took a black mini skirt from the bottom draw and put on the leotard that went under it which covered my black silk panties. The leopard was incase I got into a fight and needed coverage. Not that I was shy about my body and its perfection.

After the leotard was on, I tugged the beautiful short skirt up my thin legs and then tossed back my knee length blonde hair from my face. I ran my hands down my legs, applying some lotion so they wouldn't look ashy from the heat and then finished up by wrapping bandages around my right thigh as a tribute to the way I used to dress. The bandages were thin, white, and only covered about three inches of my flawless skin.

I took up the brush off the dresser and started to run it through my long elegant blonde hair. It was the longest and most beautiful and well cared for of any woman or man that I had ever known. I pulled it up, brushing it as I did so until it was in a high ponytail, the way I had always worn it. It was out of my face, and made it easy for me to fight.

Sitting down on my bed with a bottle of nail polish and started to go over the rough chipped black coat from the prior day. It had been messed up form training and needed to be fixed for the new day. Once I finished I got up off my bed, walked to the doorway, and then stretched slightly.

Walking, into the bathroom I picked up my blue tooth brush with green swirls and turned on the sink. I let the water run over it for a few minutes and then applied a layer of tooth paste. I raised the brush to my mouth, put it inside and started to brush my teeth. I spit out all the excess paste and saliva and then rinsed my mouth with mouth wash. I wiped my face with a small hand towel.

I picked up my black cloak which had perfectly placed red clouds as I walked out the door and forced my arms through the sleeves as I walked down the hall of the small one story building I shared with my partner.

I walked to the doorway and pulled on my high heeled shoes which went up half way up my calf. I walked outside the house and jogged down the path to meet up with Deidara. He smiled at me the way he did every morning as we walked and then I looked ahead of us, moving the black barrette further into my hair so it kept my hair in place.

My name is Yamanaka Ino, I'm the newest and first female member of Akatsuki, I am the replacement of Tobi. My senpai is Deidara.

I bet you have so many questions... Why did I join Akatsuki? Why am I happy with it? Those could be a few.

I could start with why I joined Akatsuki, it's a long story, but I suppose it's one worth telling...

—

It all started back about a month ago, I was walking through the woods one night when I heard my team mate, Shikamaru's voice whispering to his girlfriend, Temari. He said a bunch of stuff I didn't bother to listen to and then he asked her something I never thought I'd hear him ask.

He asked her to marry him. MARY HIM!? I fell to my knees and tried to think.

Why would he do that? Shikamaru was always so lazy he'd never do something like that... Why would he propose to her? She changed him! That stupid sand witch had changed my best friend from his former lazy self and turned him into someone I didn't even know. I never saw him anymore. He was either out on missions or bowing down to her almighty ass.

When asked to marry him, she played shocked, and then of course, said yes. They muttered to one another for a while, kissed a few times, and then watched the sunset and accidentally fell asleep outside.

I leaned against the tree I had fallen behind and started to think. I didn't love Shikamaru, and I never will. He was one of my best friends, and he had been on my genin team since we were around 13 or so. He was the one that I had special moves with, we laughed together, we cried, we lived, and we survived. We lost our sensei and had to get a new one not to long after. We broke in a new sensei, but he will never be Asuma.

I looked over at Temari and Shikamaru. Her head was on his chest and they seemed, so happy. But that made me mad. I never liked Temari. Her and her crazy siblings had attacked Konoha a long time before. And not only did they head the war but they killed a few ninja and almost killed the love of my life, Uchiha Sasuke.

Sadly, Sakura somehow managed to land Sasuke-kun. She got pregnant a year or so back at 16, and her and Sasuke-kun have been together ever since. I loved Sasuke-kun, but I lost him. It's not right. I'm taller, thinner, better, faster, stronger, prettier, and 100 times better to look at than Sakura. I'm popular, strong, why would Sasuke want her and not me? I hated myself for a while when I found this out, but Shikamaru and Chouji got me to calm down about it, and I felt better.

But that's a story for another day. Anyway, I decided that I would take Temari's ring.

I wasn't going to keep it. I just knew that with a brain the size of Shikamaru's he find out it was me and come to find it.

I missed spending time with my team. They where all out doing their own things, and even though I had things to do too, I missed it.

I just wanted Shikamaru to listen to me! I didn't think it would be a lot to ask. Does it sound like a lot to ask? No I didn't think so.

I waited a while and then went and took the ring after I was sure they where asleep. I took the ring with me and went back to my house and after a restless night, dozed off.

I woke up the next morning and went in for my shift at the hospital. I was now a medical ninja, and sadly, I trained more under Sakura then Tsuande-sama. It sucked seeing as Sakura was once my shadow, and followed me everywhere, but I never once complained about her teaching me.

When I had woken up my father had been in a really sour mood. He had been up since that night and was sitting by the phone like he was waiting for a call. It rang and it was Tsuande, but she wanted to talk to me. She needed me to cover a shift for Sakura early that morning. I agreed and nodded. I started to walk off.

My father snapped at me, grabbing my arm, telling me that I had no right to take such a long time on the phone. What if someone had tried to call him with important news.

I stared at him for a few moments in annoyance. "Dad... No one important calls you." I had said, not meaning it the way it had sounded.

He slapped my mouth lightly and then pushed me away. "Go to work! Do something useful and don't disappoint me like you've been doing lately..." He said flatly as he walked away.

Later, my mother had told me that Chouza, one of his best friends, and the father of my best friend Chouji, had been severely injured in a battle and he was just upset. I was mad at my mother after that. Nothing gave him the right to say that to me. I sighed and shook it off, willing to forget about it if he apologized, and he did later that night.

I forgot about it and then... it happed. After Chouza got better, later that night, my father, Chouza, and Shikaku where at my living room table, talking about how they could get rid of Temari. This was the discussion I over heard and promised my father not to tell anyone about.

I had walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water before I went to sleep and he glared at me and coldly said, "Ino this has nothing to do with you, go up to your room before you get in the way."

"I hate you!" I yelled at him, taking a step towards him. "All you've done since I decided to become a medical-nin is talk me down! I wanted to do this, I can do a lot of use by healing people! I stop treating me like I'm nothing! I'm still your daughter and you should love me and at least pretend you care about me!" I ran upstairs, dropping the glass on the floor and letting it shatter, water flowing everywhere.

My mother had heard the glass break and she came out of her own bedroom and grabbed my arm, stopping me. She told me never to speak to my father that way again and that I had no right to yell at him like I just had. He was my elder and superior and he was the reason I existed.

I pushed her away from me and yelled at her as well. "You always defend him! I never want to see him ever again! All he does is talk me down and make me feel bad! I hate that about him and I know he'll never change!" I yelled, running down the hall to my bedroom.

I slammed my bedroom door and then jumped onto my bed, closing my eyes and then wrapping my arms around myself. Wanted to cry, but refused to allow the salt water tears to fall. My father was such a jerk sometimes. I know he was having a bad week but he didn't have to be a jerk to me! That was inexcusable.

I was mad at my mother too. She was right in a way. He was my superior and I should respect him, but you need to give respect to get it and I was just so annoyed and hurt by all the time she yelled at me.

I had once stood up for Sakura when she was bullied because I knew how it felt. I hated being bullied by my dad. He loved me but some of his comments were really derogatory and he hurt me so much, without even realizing it. Like when he said I would have been better off as a boy.

They had both been very unpleasant to me recently and I had no idea why. What had I done, lost to Sakura and not won over Sasuke-kun? I started to think it over and that was the only thing I could come up with. Then I thought about Temari. Did they want ME to marry Shikamaru or something!?

Wait a minute... EW! Shikamaru was my best friend and I didn't want to be with him THAT way! That's just disgusting!

I sighed at this unpleasant memory as I too leave from my house and started to head towards the hospital so I would be on-time for the shift Sakura had canceled because she was home sleeping in with Sasuke-kun and her one year old son.

I was walking down the road when I heard the annoying sand kunoichi's voice call out to me. I sighed and turned around. I saw the looks on heir faces and knew they knew what I had done, but I played it off like I didn't.

"What's with the look?" I asked as Temari walked over to me, Shikamaru right beside her.

"You know anything about a ring?" Shikamaru asked darkly, his face pulled into a fast of disgust.

I stared at him. That hurt me so much to see him glaring at me in only a way I saw him look at the man that killed our sensei. I wanted him to come out and tell me what he asked Temari instead of dancing around the subject.

"What about a ring? Is there something I should know about...?" I asked, wanting him to just come out with it. When he did, I'd tell him the truth, and then give it back to him.

"The ring I proposed to Temari with and I know you know all about it!" He yelled, grabbing my arm and squeezing it hard.

I glared at him in return. In all the time we knew one another, he had never grabbed me like this and he had certainly never hurt me. I remembered a conversation I once heard between my father and Shikamaru's father. Shikaku, Shikamaru's father, didn't like Temari and he was trying to convince my dad to help him get rid of her.

I finally realized what he had asked her. It hit me like a smack in the face from a girl that hates you more than anything. My eyes widened. "You did what?!" I asked, still recovering from shock.

"Wait til your parents hear about this! They don't even like her! Your dad was trying to get my dad to help him get rid of her!" I yelled, not meaning to tell him that. I had promised my father I never would. It had just slipped out.

Shikamaru started to yell at me again and I didn't se why. I hadn't done anything to his knowledge.

"Go ahead and tell my parents! See if I care!" He had hollered. "If they don't respect my choice, Temari and I can go live in Suna, they can't do a damn thing to stop us."

This was exactly why I hated Temari. She was changing him, and I liked Shikamaru the way he was. My friend, and the lazy ass he always was. The Shikamaru he was around Temari was s different. He was weird. He'd do anything for her without her even needing to ask him to. He just knew what she wanted, and he'd do it. Why?

"Shikamaru! Can't you see what She's doing to you!? She's turning you against your friends, your family! She's no good for you Shikamaru, why can't you just see that?" I yelled back at him, finally raising my voice to match his.

"Ino, Shut the hell up!" He yelled even louder, making people stop what they where doing to take notice of what was going on. "Just give me back the ring and you can go date Lee or die!"

His words ripped into my heart and made me want to cry. My eyes flooded with tears after hearing my bets friend tell me he'd rather me die then stay near him. I refused to cry, but at the same time.. I just... I couldn't listen to him anymore.

"NO! You listen to me, she's destroying everything you made Shikamaru! She'll attack Konoha again one day and when she does, you're gonna have nothing left because you threw away everything for a woman that doesn't even love you!"

I just wanted him to understand the way I was feeling. This had gone so wrong from the way I wanted it to, and I didn't know what to do... What could I do? What the hell was going on?

Shikamaru held his fist in the air. He was going to attack her if she didn't do what he wanted. "This is life, and I'll do what I want. Give me the damn ring back before I go and buy another one."

I have no idea why but I felt my arm reach out and grab him. I just... grabbed him and pulled him over to me and then glared at him. "Shikamaru stop!"

I pressed my lips against his for a reason I didn't comprehend.

Temari's eyes widened and she spoke for the first time in a while. She was mad, but she respected the fact that this was a fight between Shikamaru and I. At least, until this point...

"You did not just!" Temari yelled, unable to finish her thought.

I saw Shikamaru's eyes widened and he pushed me backwards, into a wall. My eyes closed for a split second until he grabbed my shirt and pulled me onto my feet. I wanted to smack him. What gave him the right to shove me around?

"What the hell is your problem Ino? I'm practically a married man and you randomly kiss me!?"

Temari pushed by him, grabbed me by the throat and held onto me. She pressed down on my neck and then proceeded to yell at me. "You evil little bitch! If you _ever_ touch him again I'll kill you!"

I raised my hands and then narrowed my eyes. There was no way I could miss now. I muttered, which sent Temari flying backwards away from me. Her eyes hazed over, her wide and then she grew stiff while my body fell to the ground. I smiled, I had used Shintenshin no Jutsu to gain access to use Temari's body.

Shikamaru ran over to Temari's body, case in point, me, and then touched my face. "Temari?! Are you ok?" He asked, helping me to stand up. "I'm sorry... Really, I didn't think she'd attack you. I think she passed out let's go. I'll buy you a new ring."

"No..." I had Temari say. "I don't want another ring." I walked over to my own body, pretended to search it, pulled out the ring and then smiled to myself and had Temari put it on. I was off balance though. The fan on her back weighed a ton! I never thought it was light but damn! What the hell was it made out of?

I hugged him and then smiled up at him. "Whatever, don't worry about me." I said as I wrapped my arm around him, little did I know, this was only something I would do and not something Temari would have.

Shikamaru looked from Temari's body where my soul was and then back at my own body. He knew something was up, SHikamaru was far from an idiot. "What's wrong with you? You're acting like Ino..." He said suspiciously.

I pulled away and just walked beside him. Of course! Temari was too unemotional to hold him. I gave up in that and started to walk beside him. It might help if I knew anything about Temari.

"I- I am?" I questioned, starting to get nervous. "I mean... I course I am! I'm mocking her!" I said smiling at him like Temari smiled at him.

He watched me out of the corner of his eye and I swore he knew I did something to her. He wrapped an arm around my waist and I felt nervous. I had no idea on Temari's reaction. I took a guess and wrapped my arm around his shoulder to hold him in return. "What?" I asked.

Shikamaru let Temari go and started to walk beside me, as if he as disappointed by something. Was I supposed to kiss him or something?

_This is easier than I thought..._ I smirked to myself, satisfied and then continued walking with him. "You know... I love you right?" I felt myself blush, only because I never thought I'd say that to anyone besides Sasuke-kun.

"I knew it!" Shikamaru yelled. "Ino get out of her body, Temari doesn't blush around me anymore!" He yelled, grabbing her arm and twisting it slightly. "NOW!"

I watched him, "I... um..." I crossed her arms and got a sour look on my face. "You can't make me get out of her body... I'll stay here until you either beat me out, or I choose to go back to my body." I said with a smile.

"Temari is stronger than Sakura, and if Sakura can force you out so can Temari!" He yelled, squeezing harder on my arm. "And I'll tell your dad!" He yelled, starting to get really annoyed with me.

I smiled at him cunningly, "No she can't. It's my new and improved tecnique... And my dad doesn't like her either so, you can do what you want. He'll probably reward me if I kill her, and by the way, Tsuande taught me how to hurt my host without hurting myself."

"Ino you are such a wannabe!" he yelled. "Now, you want to be like Temari, and before you wanted to be like Sakura!?" he asked. "Start something on your own! No matter what you do your not marrying me!" he yelled. "And besides I have an idea I'll get Gaara."

I sighed, I was running out of chakra and this was starting to get really annoying. I glared at him. "Fine you ass, I'm leaving the village anyway!" I put Temari's hands up so all her fingers where crossed. "Cancel!" I thought and my spirit took a few minutes to return to my body because it was a few yards away.

I got up and ran off.

I just.. I needed to clear my head. I wanted to go outside the village. Sure, running off for a few hours was childish, but if it would help me clear my head then it would be easier. I sighed as I went and just ran and ran and ran. I needed to get far away from Konoha.

I kept going, getting my hand, legs, stomach and arms cut by thorns and branches as I went. I got hit once on the cheek by a small branch and got a small bleeding cut. The others where minor and barely showed any injury. I wanted to just let it all out. My eyes watered and I cried and cried.

My salt water tears streamed down my face, releasing all the pain and anxiety I had felt for the passed few days. MY mother, my father, Shikamaru, what was next? Chouji trying to kill me or something?

I ran until the sunset over the horizon and the woods where cloaked in darkness and a chilling wind blew around where I was.

I was tired, scared and cold. I didn't want to be in the area. I wanted to go back to Konoha and go see my parents. But then again, my dad was a jerk and I didn't want to talk to him either.

He had been so cold hearted to me that morning, I never wanted to talk to him ever again. Not again, not at all. I meant what I said to him. I hated him. He was a horrible father and I would be happy only if I never saw him again.

I sighed and then leaned against a tree, my arms still around myself, trying to keep myself warm. One night in the woods wouldn't kill me right?

I sensed a chakra coming towards me and jumped up into the tree and bent down, looking down at what it could be. My eyes widened. I knew who it was, It had been one of the boys I went to the academy with! He was around my age, decent, and had an average look an build. He was a jounin and had bandages wrapped around his hands, which where covered in blood along with the rest of him.

I caught him as he fell the ground and held him slightly as he wobbled. "Ino..." He said, to me, reaching up to touch my porcelain face, "Yamanaka... the whole..." He coughed and then blood started to come form his mouth.

I rested him on the ground and started to heal his stomach and chest to reduce to amount of blood in his lungs. I pushed own harder as my hands lit up so I could heal some of the internal wounds, but Sakura was far stronger in healing, and so was Tsuande. I needed them to help save him, without them, he would certainly die.

"What about my clan?" I asked, leaning down towards him, just trying to make his bleeding stop. "Please.. I need to know!" I begged, fearing the worst. Where my parents hurt in the battle that had just occurred.?! I thought as he touched my cheek again with his bloodied hand.

"They where..." He said, closing his eyes from pain and blood loss, starting to get groggy and tired. Death was coming for him and I knew there was nothing I could do about it.

"Please tell em first!" I said, knowing it sounded sort of selfish, seeing as how I was a medical ninja. I bent down closer to him and then help him. "Please tell me!"

He coughed up more blood as it streamed down his face onto the dirt and grass. "They were..." He struggled to sit up slightly and talk to her. "Killed... your mother and father... I promised Inoichi that I would tell you myself.." He said as his head fell to the side. "The whole village was attacked." He said, his pain becoming emanate in his face. "...By Oto." He stopped moving and then slowly his breathing stopped and he died.

My eyes welled up with tears as I recalled my last words to my parents. I told them that I hated them and never wanted to see them again. Regret filled me and my tears fell from my blue eyes and started to drip onto the long untamed lades of green grass. My whole body hurt at that moment.

I shook my head, scattering my tears all over the grass, myself and the body of the man beside me. I cried and cried, trying to realize that this was all my fault. Had I not run off I could have seen them again. I could have apologized, healed them, anything! I could have done something to help out.

My eyes burned and were red from crying. What could I do? Really now?

I got up and thought of going home, but then a thought occurred to me. I left, and then Oto attacked. That would make it seem like I was an Oto spy and no one would trust me ever again. I knew I wasn't but... I didn't want to bury my parents. I was 17 years old... I was too young to do anything like that. I wiped my eyes and then crawled over to the body beside me.

He deserved a proper burial for what he did, so I took him up form the ground, dig a shallow hole with a rock that I had found, put him in it and buried him. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to think of something to say to his spirit.

"Thanks..." I muttered smiling slightly, wiping my tears. "For not making me go back to see such a sight."

I ran away as fast as I could into the woods, farther away from Konoha, trying to decide what I was going to do. Where would I live? What would I do? How would I survive?

I had no idea the answer to any of these questions, but one thing was for sure... No one in Konoha wanted me back, including my own team. I didn't want to go back, and I refused to even think about the concept of returning to _that _village.

I screamed and punched a tree, causing it to fall. Sakura had taught me some of what she knew, but not enough for me to be considered almighty and exceedingly powerful with it. I kicked down another tree knocking it down.

Birds cawed and flew off in all directions, getting far away from me as I knocked down the trees that where once their home. But I didn't care. I was too angry to care. I was feeling so many things at once. Pain, hatred, anger, need, love, and most of all, regret. I wished so much that I never yelled at my parents and told them I hated them. The truth was, I didn't and now, I could never take it back.

I ran off again, screaming, crying, yelling, and breaking trees, and other plants. I stopped at a small building covered in Ivy and I ripped it all down in a rage and then leaned against the bear wall and kept crying and crying. I felt o my knees and closed my eyes in pain.

The realization of me being alone had finally set in. I was alone, the only one in the main branch of my family left.

When I ripped the Ivy off the shack something small had fallen from it and hit the ground beside me. My eyes widened and then I seemed a bit in awe. It was a ring. A beautiful white ring with a deep blue green colored crystal which had the words _gyokunyo, _meaning the virgin.

I thought it looked beautiful. It was the most elegant and perfect ring I had ever seen, little did I know it would change my life forever. I pulled it onto my fingers and then sighed slightly. The ring was fairly large and didn't fit without falling off most of my fingers. I put it on my left thumb, the only finger it fit on.

My eyes widened slightly, remembering how my father had a ring on his left hand. It was a ring he had always worn. It was just a normal band, with no crystal, but he wore it on the same hand and thumb that I was wearing it on.

My eyes watered more and more and then when it seemed like I couldn't cry anymore, my emotion turned back to anger and I broke open the wall of the small shack I had pulled the Ivy from and then ran off again. I needed to get further form Konoha. I was still too close for my liking.

I was so lost now.. I sensed many different chakra's of various ninja but I didn't know who they where. My eyes stung and I have no idea what I could do. My eyes closed and I grew more hurt than prior to that moment, annoyed, and then it turned to pain and tiredness.

I stopped running and sat in a high tree. My body was tired from running. And I was too exhausted to do anything more. I wrapped my arms around myself, to keep myself warm in the darkness of night, and then my eyes grew heavy and closed slightly. The minute I closed my eyes, I instantly fell asleep.

—

When I woke up in the morning, I sensed chakra around me. I didn't recognize it and it was exceedingly powerful. I didn't know what to do, or whether I should go towards it or not. I was scared of it to be honest... It was so stronger, at least 100 times stronger than mine.

I didn't know what to do exactly... Go towards it, run away... Go towards it, or run away? Go to the powerful shinobi, or run away like a coward once more?

I chose the unwise choice, and went towards it. I walked closer to the many charka's and then leaned against a tree and listened to a smooth male voice. It was deep and beautiful, and belonged to a red eyed man. Red eyes? I questioned. I was in shock. These red eyes where the same ability Sasuke-kun possessed. This man before me was Sasuke's elder brother, Uchiha Itachi.

My eyes widened in shock and fear. He had killed his whole clan, and my worst fear was that he wasn't alone. Surrounding him in black cloths with red clouds was the other members of Akatsuki. At least five of them. I was terrified.

"A spare..." I heard a deep voice say. "Kill her." He stood up and then looked at me. His fac was hard to see through the bushes but I could see round marking on his face, like he was branded or tattooed, even pierced was unsure and I was too afraid to do much.

Itachi appeared in front fo me and grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into a tree. I grabbed his hands and closed my eyes which started to water from pain and fear. "Pl-Please.." I stammered. "Don't kill me!" I pleaded, my eyes closing. I was in so much pain, I hurt inside and I knew that he wouldn't stop.

"Itachi-san." Came Kisame's voice from behind him. "Her left hand..." He said, pointing towards the ring I found.

The man with the markings on his face walked forward and smiled as he took her hand. "Well, well, well... Seems you beat us to it, but now you have a voice. Either you die... or-"

"I don't want to die... I just want to go.." I said, not meaning to interrupt him. He must have been the leader. Everyone was watching him and they followed his orders. His eyes scared me. They were wide, blood shot and quiet freakish. I looked down, away from him, not wanting to see his eyes.

"Let me finish..." He said slightly annoyed. "You can either die here, or join Akatsuki."

"Wh- Why would you want _me _to join?" I asked, slightly put off. Why did they? I was no were near as strong as them. What the hell where they thinking? I wasn't an S rank ninja, I was only a chunnin.

"You have the ring of Tobi. He was just killed, and now, you are his replacement. Would you rather die?" Leader asked as he bent down towards my face.

I was in shock. I was bing told to join Akatsuki or die. I smiled at him. This was about pretending and making believe right? This would ruin my life if I got serious but if I turned spy I would be a hero. I continued to smile and nodded. "Yes. I will join you, Leader." I said, already knowing who he was just from the way he spoke to me.

Leader didn't smile, I got the impression he never did. He nodded and stood up to his full height, which made him tower over me as if I was a seedling and he was an ancient tree. I was so afraid of him, but he backed away and walked off. "Bring her back with us." He said, looking at Itachi. "I'll go tell Deidara about his new partner." He vanished without another word.

I gulped. I had only heard of Deidara once and what I heard was not good. They said he was a freak with a weird appearance and freakish hands. I walked behind Itachi and everyone else and then broke into a run and struggled to keep up with them. They ran so fast!

Kisame stopped and picked me up, pulling me onto his back as he ran. He seemed the sweetest even thought his appearance was quiet off.

We arrived there not to long afterwards and I was so thankful I had found that ring. It saved my life, who would have thought, huh? I let out a small sigh and tried to forget the pain of losing my parents, but never being able to see or hlp them with it. I knew what happened and I was in pain about it still. It would never fade, it made me question how Itachi could kill his whole family.

I heard a loud commotion and then a yell. I assumed it to be Deidara because I heard Leader speak his name and them him instantly be quiet.

He groaned and then walked into the room I was in with Itachi and Kisame. He stared at me for a few moments and then smiled. "Hey..." he said walking over to me and looked into my deep blue eyes as I looked into his beautiful blue-green eyes.

He looked a lot like me, but his hair was darker and mine was longer than his. I smiled up at him. I had to get used to him right? And being nice to him might get me special treatment because I was a girl, right?

He grunted and walked off with me. "Come on.. I'll show you where we live." he said, unable to take his eyes off me, and who would blame him? I was seventeen and he was twenty. He was cute in his own way and I forgot all the rumors I heard about him when I saw him.

He brought me into a small one story house on a giant property and then started to show me inside of it, where everything was, where I would sleep and then his room incase I should need anything.

I smiled at him and then sat with him in the living room. We were in silence for a while until I broke it. "I want vengeance... on the ninja who killed my parents, can I get that here?" I asked looking up at him.

He nodded. "You help us we help you, that's the rule. I know you're a chunnin, we can turn you into a jounin and then a full fledged S rank ninja in no time. Welcome into Akatsuki. By the way.. What's your name?" He had asked, watching me closely.

"Thanks." I responded. "My name is Yamanaka Ino." I had said, smiling at him sweetly. "And You're Deidara, right?" I questioned.

He nodded. "Yes, my name is Deidara. I'm pleased to meet you Ino." He said smirking somewhat darkly. "You have a boyfriend?" He asked.

I blushed at his question. "No.. Mostly everyone I know think I'm annoying and just gets in the way. My best friend and teammate told me he'd rather me go and die than talk to him when his fiancé was around." I said sadly, looking down at the floor under my feet.

"His name is Nara Shikamaru." I added, wondering if he knew who she was.

"I know him.. He killed Hidan, he was one of us. You where in that fight, correct?" He asked looking at my, his visible beautiful blue green eye linking for a brief moment.

I was at a loss of what to say. "Yeah... but once again I was helpless and couldn't do anything about it." I sighed and closed my eyes.

Deidara shook his head. "That makes you the med-nin that was their correct? That makes you strong. I admire that. You can heal us when we need it. We need you here with us now. And you're one of us, and it's not as if you'd... hey.. You should be a spy and get us secret information from Konoha."

My blush worsened when he said Akatsuki needed me and I smiled at him. "Thanks.." I told him appreciatively.

I smiled at him and we talked and talked until the sun had set, marking the close of the day. We talked about everything. My family, his family. Both of our histories, our past, why we fan away, and how we both got involved in Akatsuki. I loved it. He was so sweet to me, it was like we knew one another all our lives.

He walked over to me and took my hand, he pulled me up to my feet and walked me into my room. He felt the mouth on his hand when he took mine and liked it. It was a cool feeling. He didn't bite me or anything like I heard he did. I liked him. He was sweet and I felt safe around him and knew I could trust him with anything.

I smiled and went into my new room and laid down in my bed. It had been a very long day. I fell into a slumber and that was all I remembered from the day I had joined Akatsuki.

There's more to my story, I had another incounter with Shikamaru.. And... well.. Akatsuki shined some new light on my parents and their deaths. I found out more, and more while I was with them. But that's a story made for another day. Perhaps later would be a better time.

My name is Yamanaka Ino, and I am the first female member of Akatsuki.

—

A/N: Don't forget to read and review! I hope you enjoyed. Chapter 2 will be coming soon.


	2. Ground Zero

'_**Love is a Bang'**_

Chapter: 2

**A/N:** This chapter will have several characters. Anything written in third person is background information. Anything written in _First person_ will be Ino's perspective.

Damn...! SPOILER OF MANGA SCAN 363

[Well sadly, Deidara has died, and there is a female member of Akatsuki, who's name is currently unknown...

This is going to take place BEFORE all of that, please don't tell me anything else about Deidara's un and yeah thing. I know he says it. I just found it kinda weird to put into their conversation. I added it into this chapter and will try to put it in wherever I can whenever Deidara speaks. I's kinda hard to add into a conversation and make him seem interested in it. He can't talk to Ino and says things like, I hate Itachi, mmm... sounds like he saying Itachi tastes good and he hates Itachi. So be patient, I'll try to add his habits in when I can. I apologize that this makes him slightly, OOC.

Thanks! Please keep the comments coming

**Summary**: Ino finds her life in Konoha to be substandard. No one seems to like her, her friends and teammates are too busy with their own love lives to notice her. Shikamaru is spending all this time with Temari. Chouji is god knows where to be found, and her parent's are too busy helping out Shikamaru's parents to even know she exists.

She runs off temporarily, just to clear her head. Someone comes to her and tells her that Konoha was attacked, her parent's where killed, and the invaders have fled in mild victory. It was a Konoha ninja, and he dies in front of her. She cries and then refuses to go back to Konoha; she doesn't want to see her parents bodies and then go to the funeral.

She then finds a ring in her distress, and puts it on the only finger it fits on. Her left thumb. She then comes across Akatsuki and is about to be killed hen Leader gives her a choice. Join us... Or die.

— — —

**Chapter One:**

My name is Yamanaka Ino, I'm the newest member of Akatsuki, I am the replacement of Tobi. My senpai is Deidara-kun and he looks so much like me he's like my brother. We have no relation, but we have the same blonde hair, the cow lick in front that covers our left eyes.

I could start with why I joined Akatsuki, it's a long story, but I suppose it's one worth telling...

—

A hand ran over a table as it started to tap its fingers one at ta time on the marble table quickly. A male voice groaned and then a head with spiky black hair rose from the table and looked around.

His hands came to his lap and he put them together, fingers on one hand, matching their partner on the other in a circular shape. A strategy pose.

Shikamaru sat in his kitchen, thinking. Being the genius he was he could go through hundreds of strategies at, thousands of possibilities, millions of chances, and billions of choices. But...

One thing he couldn't figure out, was why he told his best friend he wanted to see her die. He had found Chouji and talked to him, he said he hadn't spent time with Ino in almost a month, he asked Sakura about Ino, she said she had been depressed and felt like she was no longer a part of team ten.

Shikamaru was a genius, he knew what was wrong and it didn't take too much to figure it out.

Ino felt excluded, and she only took Temari's ring to get him to listen to her. That or she wanted to marry him or something... He hadn't forgotten the kiss she had given him. It was ok, nothing compared to the way that Temari kissed him, but it felt weird... To have your best friend kiss you?

He sighed and looked into his room. Temari was awake, but still laying down. Ino had been gone for five days... Shikamaru was hoping she hadn't done something stupid. He cared about her. She was his best female friend, but... where was she? Did she run off because of him. Was she mad? Was she just hiding at home? He sighed and closed his eyes. Why would she? Her parents where gone...

Wait! Shikamaru just thought of something, what if they kidnaped Ino!? His mind started to explore a scene of Ino locked in a room, her arms bound behind her in chains, blindfolded, bleeding, broken, hurt and possibly dying. His eye brows shot up and his whole body went numb, thinking it was his fault. His vision changed and then he saw Ino laying on her couch at home laughing at him. He smirked slightly.

He doubted it she had been taken, they would have sent a ransom for her, he realized, calming down. He felt arms wrap around him and he leaned back into Temari's embrace and then sighed and closed his eyes. "Hey Temari..." He muttered.

"You need more alone time to think?" She asked, kissing his cheek. She continued to hold him and bit her lip. She knew he was worried about Ino, but what could she do to help him calm down slightly?

"Naw... I guess I'm just worried about her. She's my friend and I told her I wanted her to die... What if she _is_ really dead?" He asked, looking down at her. He had finally gotten taller than Temari, but it wasn't by much, Temari was almost as tall as him.

"If you're sure." Temari answered letting him go and walking over to the fridge and getting something to drink. "Are you hungry?"

—

**Flashback - Ground Zero**(Ino's appointment into Akatsuki)

Deidara groaned to himself as Leader came into the house he lived in, now by himself. He had been sitting on his bed moping around. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he missed his former partner. Tobi wasn't like anyone else. He was happy, easily entertained, and liked to argue with Deidara.

Deidara liked that about him. He liked arguing with someone that had a brain and wasn't Itachi because their arguments always ended in a fight and then leader breaking them apart. He sighed. Toni was sweet, funny, and liked to have fun and joke around. They were best friends, Deidara was his teacher, and he brought him into the whole Akatsuki world. Sure, Tobi was weaker than the rest, but... He was still his partner, and they would he partners to the end.

Leader called to him and Deidara walked over and got down on one knee respectively. "Un?" He asked, looking up at him, wondering if this was news of Tobi and where he had mysteriously disappeared to.

He was worried, but only slightly. Tobi was strong, annoying, and bothersome, weaker than the other members of Akatsuki, but strong all the same. He had taken him from a nob to a full member of Akatsuki, but after a fight one day he had left. Deidara closed his eyes as he remember the fight he and Tobi had shared before Tobi's mysterious disappearance.

"Why did you take credits for everything _I _did, hmm!?" Deidara yelled, annoyed by one of Tobi's rather bothersome qualities. Which consisted of taking credit for all of Deidara's beautiful artwork's accomplishments.

Tobi rolled his right eye behind his mask, which was unseen by Deidara. "I didn't take the credit for that _you _did. I captured the beast on my own!"Tobi falsely defended, knowing Deidara did most of the work.

"YES you did!" Deidara yelled, pulling out one of his birds and throwing it at Tobi. "Katsu!" he yelled as it exploded and blew Tobi's mask off his face.

Both of Tobi's hands came up to his face, shielding it from Deidara. He had never let anyone see his face, and he never wanted to. It was scared and disfigured from previous occurrences. His face was never to be seen and that was quite obviously the reason he wore the orange mask and only let one of his eyes show.

Tobi backed away form Deidara in shock. He never expected his partner to attack him over such a stupid thing such as taking credit where it wasn't due. He moved towards the door and tehn took off out of it in a quick flash.

Deidara took a few steps forward and ran after him. "Tobi wait!" He yelled as he saw his partner vanish into the shadows. He sighed and then sat down outside, looking at the ground. He regretted attacking him, but Deidara had a temper that he quite often lost. He didn't mean to, but it happened at times, usually when he fought Itachi.

He sighed slightly at this unpleasant memory as he looked up at Leader questioningly.

"I have found you a new partner, the ring of Tobi has been found and Itachi and Kisame are bringing your new partner here." He told him in an even monotonic voice, never raising his voice above a normal speaking voice. "She will be here shortly." His large eyes scanned over him to watch his emotions to see if he would regret Tobi's death/disappearance, however the reaction wasn't what he expected.

"She?!" Deidara exclaimed standing up and walking over to Leader who was shorter than him by several inches, which placed Deidara around five foot eight.

"What the hell? Since when where women allowed to join Akatsuki, hn?" Deidara questioned in a tone of utter disrespect directed at his Leader.

Leader arched an eyebrow as Deidara realized his place and dropped to his knees. He cursed himself silently, knowing he just flashed his temper, an utter amount of disrespect, and that he had a bit of trouble knowing where his place was.

Deidara realized he should avoid leader for a while and in addition watch this female member intently. Women tended to be slightly curious and stick their noses in places it doesn't belong. He sighed and shook his head, unsure of what he should do now.

"I apologize Leader, that was out of line... un" He said, bowing his head so he was looking down at the floor.

"You are forgiven..." Leader said, turning his back and starting to walk away. "See that it _never_ happens again." He said, emphasizing the word never.

Deidara nodded and then raised it once Leader had left the room. He sighed in fear and then stood up and dusted off his pants, the floor was slightly dusty from the wind blowing in the dirt.

He walked out of the room and saw his enemy, Uchiha Itachi, the reason for his hatred towards one of his own members. Someone he should trust. He yawned slightly and then looked up as he saw blonde hair walk out from behind Kisame. His dark green blue eyes widened and he was speechless. This woman was far more beautiful then any he had ever seen. He was in shock. She was spectacular. He walked over to her smirked slightly. He was going to like being her partner.

He grunted and walked off with me. "Come on.. I'll show you where we live, hmm." he said, unable to take his eyes off me, and who would blame him? I was seventeen and he was twenty. He was cute in his own way and I forgot all the rumors I heard about him when I saw him.

I watched her for a minute and then took her hand into my own and started to lead her away from my bitter most enemy and his partner. He lead her into a small one story house on a giant property and then started to show her inside of it: where everything was, where Ino would sleep and then his room incase she should need anything.

Ino smiled at him and then sat with him in the living room. We were in silence for a while until Ino broke it. "I want vengeance... on the ninja who killed my parents, can I get that here?" she asked looking up at him.

He nodded. "You help us we help you, that's the rule. I know you're a chunnin, we can turn you into a jounin and then a full fledged S rank ninja in no time. Un, welcome into Akatsuki. By the way.. What's your name? Hmm?" He had asked, watching me closely.

"Thanks." She responded. "My name is Yamanaka Ino." She had said, smiling at him sweetly. "And You're Deidara, right?" Ino questioned.

He nodded. "Un, my name is Deidara. I'm pleased to meet you Ino. Un." He said smirking somewhat darkly. "You have a boyfriend, Hmm?" He asked.

Ino blushed at his question. "No.. Mostly everyone I know think I'm annoying and just gets in the way. My best friend and teammate told me he'd rather me go and die than talk to him when his fiance was around."She said sadly, looking down at the floor under her feet. "His name is Nara Shikamaru." Ino added, wondering if he knew who he was.

"Un, I know of him. He killed Hidan, he was one of us. You where in that fight, correct? Hm?" He asked looking at my, his visible beautiful blue green eye linking for a brief moment.

Ino was at a loss of what to say. "Yeah... but once again I was helpless and couldn't do anything about it." she sighed and closed my eyes.

Deidara shook his head. "That makes you the med-nin that was their correct? That makes you strong. I admire that. You can heal us when we need it. We need you here with us now. And you're one of us, and it's not as if you'd... hey.. You should be a spy and get us secret information from Konoha.

Her blush worsened when he said Akatsuki needed her and she smiled at him. "Thanks.." she told him appreciatively.

-Ino's POV-

I sighed as I walked with Deidara into the Akatsuki compound. It was pretty early in the morning and I was tired. I looked at the man beside me and was a bit intimidated. He was so strong, he was in Akatsuki! Should I be scared of him? I stepped away from him slightly. He had been really sweet a few minutes before, but I knew I had to be careful about what I said and did around everyone here. They where all murders, thieves and murders.

I also started to notice his habits of ending his sentences in things that weren't even words. It made me wonder if he was really interested in what was going on. I sighed and looked up at him. He had beautiful eyes.. Well... eye. I could only see the blue green one because of his hair. Was he hiding something with his hair?

My hair was placed similar to that, but it wasn't to hide my fac, it was because I liked it like that. It made me unique, and I really liked it. I sighed slightly. Nothing was worse than this. Sure, I wanted revenge, but was joining Akatsuki going to make it worth it?

Deidara looked at Ino and then blinked a few times. "What?" He asked examining the frightened look on my face.

"Are you scared, un?" He asked smirking and crossing his arms over his chest, looking down at me teasingly. He was in such a good mood. He was sweet, but, could I trust him?

I bit my lip slightly. "No!" I half yelled, looking up at him, still slightly frightened. He was so tall, he towered over me and it was really intimidating. "No I'm not..." I said, clearing my throat, wondering why in the world I was stuck in this.

The reality was starting to register with me and the danger I was in and how bad this could be or even end up.

His smirk widened. "Un..." He said. "Im not going to kill you, you know." He said uncrossing his arms and looked at her. "Unless you piss me off then that's a whole different story, un." He teased me.

I sighed. I didn't like being talked down to. Every time he said 'Un' it was like he was being sarcastic. It was so snarky. I took a small step away from him and continued to walk with him. He lead me into a house and I gulped. Do I really have to live with him? I looked around and then up at him. "Do all the partners live in a house like this?" I asked, trying to smile.

Could he really be trusted? I mean... he was a murderer, a killer, a mad man, but he was kinda cute. I smiled and then realized my own thoughts and sighed. I was always distracted by vanity. He was cute, but I was more than that, and that made me a bit fearful. What if he wanted me? He could turn into a rapist? Right? Murder to rape is a jump down for him... right? It wasn't a far jump from murder, and let's be real, I am so desirably hot, who wouldn't walk me?

Deidara looked at me as we walked in. "Un, what do expect? A giant mansion with a Jacuzzi, hm?" He asked leaning against one of the walls. "I have nothing against this house do you?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

I held up her hands in my own defense. "I didn't mean anything wrong by it!" I said in a quiet voice, backing up away from him when he raised his voice. "I have nothing against it." I said closing my deep blue eyes and smiling at him. My eyes opened and then looked around. "How big is this house we share?" I asked, looking around at it. It seemed fairly small, but a good size for at least two people.

Deidara thought for a moment. "Its got two bedrooms and a bath in each, a living room and a kitchen. The usual, hn." He said shrugging. "I didn't mean to scare you." He said looking at her when she gulped.

"How big is this compound? Like, how big is everything.. like the land around this apartment." I questioned looking out the window at the huge building in the distance. I had never seen anything that big, the only exception being the Hokage Mountain in Konoha. I looked up at him and walked over to him slightly. I sighed and then looked around outside. "And you didn't really scare me that much." I was still so unsure of what to do when around him.

Deidara smiled slightly. "Its pretty big, and its all our training grounds, un." He said proudly. He flew around quite often and blew things up, woke up and pissed off everyone else when he could and when he was in a good mood. However, it was all in good fun, and no one but Itachi held it against him. "I need a lot of room if I want to explode shit without killing myself, hm." he told her as his smile turned into a smirk. He then leaning against the wall and looking at me with that beautiful smirk that passed over his lips.

"Yeah but I um..." I started, not wanting to admit they'd kill her with such ease it made me seem even more pathetic then scum the brushed off their shoulders. "I can fight but no where near the level you guys can..." I mentioned, knowing he knew and looking down at the floor. "And I'm a medical ninja, I kinda had to give up training in order ro learn most fo my medical ninjutsu

"Don't worry I'll make you as strong as it gets, un!" He said looking at me his blue green eyes looking directly into my blue ones. "I'll teach everything I know, well anything that doesn't include using my mouths."

"Mo-mouths?" She asked. "As in plural?" She asked, never having seen his hands or fought him. "And thanks." She said smiling at him, feeling a bit relieved that he didn't intend to hurt her. "Are you guys always up this early?"

Deidara put up his hands and stuck out the tongues as he did the same with his mouth. He smirked at me as he did so and I stared at all three of his mouths, tongues, and sets of teeth. I was in shock. That was so... weird, amazing, bizarre, and nothing I had ever seen before.

"You've never seen my hands, hm?" He asked zipping one of the bags on his belt and putting his hand inside of it. It made a small noise, his shirt ruffled slightly, and then he pulled his hand out of the pouch and it was chewing something. I looked inside of the bag and say something that looked like clay. He closed his fingers over the mouth on his right hand and then opened it and a small elegant bird sat in the palm of his hand. He smiled and moved his hand, watching it fly to me. "Don't worry it wont explode, un." He told me quite satisfied with himself.

I reached out and looked down at it as it landed in my hands. He put his hands together in a seal and it got slightly larger, like the normal size of a bird and sat in my hands. It looked a bit like a dove and I was fascinated. That was very unique ability and something to take note of.

"That's amazing.." I said looking up at him. "And strangely creative." I smiled at him. "It's pretty how did you do that?" I questioned, looking over at him and then tilting my head slightly, wanting to know the answer. I knew I could never learn, but knowing how he did it was the next best thing, right?

Deidara smiled. "Its easy, I've been doing it since I was small, un." He said putting more clay in the mouth in his left hand then watching as it made a rose. He handed it to her. "I like making stuff, it helps me practice." He said.

I blushed when he handed her a rose. "You...?" She stammered, looking down at it. "Thank you." I finally responded. "So.. What are they? Bombs or something?" I asked, looking back at him and away form the beautiful full stemmed rose.

He shook his head. "Un, No problem, and they aren't bombs. Well those aren't. I don't want them blowing up in your face so I didn't make them bombs."

He showed me his palms again and I tilted my head to the side, slightly confused. I raised my other hand and leaned my hand towards his and let my left hand touch his right one. I was slightly unsure of what he wanted, but I did it all the same. I looked up into his breath taking eyes, and then looked at him with a smile. His hands moved against mine slowly and then his palm licked mine affectionately. Most girls would find that weird, and under normal circumstances, I would have too, but... I didn't. I found it really sweet.

"How do you make the bombs, some kind of powder?" She asked raising an eyebrow. I looked back at his hands. I walked over to him and smiled up at him. He was really sweet dn seemed exceedingly creative. She admired that in him.

Deidara nodded. "Yeah just wait until tomorrow when we train, im gonna show you how I blow up shit." He said sitting down and smirking. "You aren't afraid of heights are you? Because we're gonna be flying a lot if you're my partner."

My eyes widened. "He-heights?" She asked, looking up at him. "I don't fly.. If I was meant to fly I would have had wings." She said, looking at him and smiling. "I'd really rather stay on the ground." She said, closing her eyes nervously.

Deidara looked at me for a few seconds with a serious look on his face, then erupted into laughter. "Un, you are afraid of heights aren't you, hm!" He teased then stopped laughing.

"Come on its no that bad, unless you wanna run after me while I fly? You'll burn to much chakra like that." He reminded me as he walked over to me and stood beside me.

I was leaning against the wall across form him, watching him. I liked talking to him, even if he did laugh at me. He was sweet for the most part and made me feel at ease for some reason. I liked it. He made me feel good.

I smiled at him. "Yes, I'm afraid of heights and I'll fly with you but you have to promise not to get mad if I pop your head off.." I said, looking up at him. "But it doesn't mean I'll like it either.."

Deidara smiled. "Don't worry I wont let you fall, I don't want anymore of my partners to die, un." he said leaning back against the wall. Every partner he had died so far and he didn't want her to die. She was nice, and different from all his other partners.

"How many partner's have you lost?" I asked, leaning against the other wall and looking at him. I couldn't explain it, but I trusted him at that moment. He had a sound of regret and kindness in his voice as he was speaking to me now. It wasn't snarky like before and I was... in a way touched that he would trust me with the information he was about to confide in me with.

Deidara sighed. "I lost two already, Sasori then Tobi, hn." He told me with a slight smile. "I don't want to loose you now, so I'll protect you ok?" He asked. "And I wont let you fall don't worry." he reminded me, his smile staying on his face. "Got it, un?"

I walked over to him and then stopped walking. I froze for a minute and then moved his blonde hair from his face and touched the left side of his face, running her hand over his mechanical eye. I could admit it, I saw black on his face and was nosy. I just wanted to look at it, but I had to reach up to see it. "What happened?" I asked, thinking that it didn't come off or was attached to his face.

Deidara sighed. "Long story short: It's because of Itachi and his stupid ass Sharingan. I got it when I first joined Akatsuki because I hated feeling inferior to Sharingan.." He said leaning back. "Its fine now." He said smiling at me. He reached up and pressed a button and it released form his face and revealed an eye identical to the other one. "See? I trained it to see through Sharingan, so I cover it when I don't need it, hn ." He reached up and then reattached the eye back to his face and then looked back at me.

"Yeah.. I remember Itachi, he's the one who tried to kill me." I said, putting my hand on her neck where he had bruised me. "Why did you feel inferior, you seem really strong to me, couldn't you have just blown him up or something?"

Deidara smiled at her, it seemed like he was happy with what I had told him. This made me really happy. "Don't worry about I don't care about it anymore." He said looking at the bruise on your neck.

"He hurt you, un?" He asked putting his hand over it. "He needs to die, all he does is hurt people."

I smiled back at him. "He won't attack me, right?" I asked, nervously. "I don't want you to fight him because of me." I said, remembering he said that he would protect me. I backed up slightly. "I mean... you're really sweet but I don't want to get you killed." I told him with an innocent tilt of my head.

Deidara shook his head. "He wont attack you now that you're in Akatsuki, and he wont be able to because leader wont let him. It's one of the rules, un." he told me with a stroke of my face. "Don't worry I wont let him even if he tries, I promised to protect you, remember, hn?" he questioned as he rested his hand under my hin to make me look up at him.

I shivered and then shook my head slightly. Leader made me shiver. I didn't trust him and his eyes cared me. Along with the tattoos on his face and his dozen piercing. "Leader is kinda... creepy in his own way." I told him as I stopped shaking. "Is he always like that?" I questioned, unsure. "He just stuck me as someone who always get his own way, so is Itachi. I mean... after what he did to his clan and Sasuke-kun.."

Deidara nodded. "I don't like Sasuke either, I fought him and I was happy that I got out alive, hn." He said sighing. "I hate the Uchiha's they act so cool just because they have Sharingan and they discourage my art, un."

"Don't let them get to you. Sasuke got all his power form Orochimaru and I don't know anything about Itachi besides he's a murderer. You're art is amazing, don't let them discourage you." I said as sweetly as I could, and I meant it. Not just because he said he would protect me, but because of what I had seem him do. He turned a lump of nasty, sticky, white clay into a beautiful rose, and a bird. That was truly an amazing talent that no one else possessed but him.

"Thanks that really means a lot, no ones complimented me on that before, un." He smiled at me in the sweetest way I had ever seen a man smile at me or anyone else. Sasuke didn't even smile at Sakura like that, and they had a baby boy. "Im gonna like having you around, and I'll protect you so no one can take you away, hm."

Ino blushed slightly and then smiled at him appreciatively. "Thank you." I said walked over to him. "I want to ask you something." I said, looking up at him. "If you hate Itachi so much, how can you deal with him?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I hated Sakura for a while, and it was al I could do to have a simple conversation for her. "Like how you can just... put up with him when you train and stuff?"

Deidara shrugged. "I guess I have to..Leader makes us, un.." He said looking at her. "But I don't care, I can just blow his ass up, hn." He said laughing slightly. "It doesn't bother me all that much now, un." he said.

I blinked a few times. "Why because you can beat him?" She asked. "If Sasuke beat Itachi once I think he can do it again, and if you lived through Sasuke then..." She trailed off, still smiling slightly. She liked Deidara. He was probably much friendlier then the rest of Akatsuki, and she liked how sweet and compassionate he was with her.

Deidara shrugged. "I don't know, Itachi's weird, un." He said leaning back against the wall then smiling at her. "Im glad you joined Akatsuki, un." He said happy that he had a new partner once again.

"I didn't really have a choice." I said thinking about what Shikamaru had said to me. "I want you to train me.. I want to be able to defeat whoever killed my parents." I sighed in regret. "I miss them."

Deidara nodded. "I'll make as strong as I am! We'll be the best Akatsuki team ever, un!" He said smiling at her. "And I promise to help you get vengeance on your parents death, hm." he told me, taking my hand into his.

I hugged him without realizing what I was doing and then smiled up at him. I let him go suddenly and backed away. "Thank you." I said blushing slightly.

"How fast can you get information form any of the five shinobi villages? I want to know who killed my parents." I asked as I went back to the wall and leaned against it.

He had hugged me back and then rubbed the back of his head. "Well..im not what you really call quiet, un." He said knowing he couldn't be quiet enough to spy on someone. "But I'll try.." He said looking at her.

I had laughed at him, but with no malice behind it. I was starting to figure him out. "Let me guess, you like to enter with a bang?" I asked smiling at him. "I like that about your personality, but I'm from Konoha, if you bring me there I can talk to Tsuande, she was in a way my sensei." I said sighing. "I just don't want to see anyone else. Like Shikamaru..."

Deidara smiled and nodded. "You want me to take you now, hn? We have the rest of the day to do what we want, un." He said shrugging. "Unless leader calls some kind of mission on us, un." he said.

I shrugged, "Yeah I guess..." I said with a sigh. "I never wanted to go back but I guess I have to." I said, closing her eyes and leaning against the wall. "This sucks... I don't want to see SHikamaru after he told me to go die." I said, wrapping her arms around my waist in remembrance of our fight and what he had told me. I still couldn't believe he wanted me to die.

Deidara nodded and got up from his crouched position."Don't worry I won't let him near you, un." He said taking my hand and helping me up and then pulling me up gently with him. "Come on if we want to get there by the need of the day we have to hurry, hn." He said running outside and throwing one of his clay birds out and jumping onto it with me as it turned larger. My eyes widened as I started to panic as it flapped it's wings and took off into the sky.

"Deidara!" I exclaimed, looking up at him and then closing my eyes, clinging to him. He sat down with me, and put me in front of him and sat down behind me.

I smiled at him and then wrapped my as around him as tightly as I could. "Oh.. my.. god!" I almost screamed, closing her eyes and burying her head into his shoulder. "I don't like high!" I yelled, never having admitting my fear to anyone before. Deidara was the only person that knew. "Ok Deidara.. we're not going to do this a lot right?!"

Deidara laughed slightly and wrapped an arm around me so I wouldn't fall. "Calm down we aren't even that far up yet, un."He said smiling at me. "I wont let you fall promise. And un we'll be doing this a lot."

"Damn it!" I said closing my eyes and holding him tighter. "I don't like being up really high." I said, keeping her eyes closed. "Thanks for bringing me though, I appreciate it, but won't you get in trouble for going into Konoha? You could sit wait in the woods, I know where you can hide without getting caught. I know everything about how the village runs." I told him confidently. And I wasn't lying. I honestly did know everything about the village and how it ran, which made me really happy to know that I could sneak around the village as I saw fit.

Deidara made his bird go down lower so it wasn't so high up that it scared me. "I could careless about what the village thinks, but if you want me to wait outside I will, un." He said keeping his arm around her.

"I just don't want you to get attacked or killed is all. Stay outside for me, It won't take long, Tsuande-sama likes me, kind of." She said sighing. "And thank you for going lower." I said, leaning on his shoulder and closing my eyes, trying to avoid looking down at the ground. He was so easy to talk to, I loved that about him. He was sweet, nice, and his presence was firm, but flexible like a breeze, strong but comforting.

Deidara nodded. "No problem, un."He said seeing the Konoha wall and going down lower so they'd stop in front of it. He slowed down and made his bird drop lower into the trees, so it was concealed. Konoha was weary of Deidara ever since he kidnaped and killed the Kazekage of the sand village, Gaara. He smiled as the breeze went though his hair, he loved flying.

I smiled at him. He looked so cute when the wind wiped through his hair. My own long hair was trailing behind me in twisting and random patterns as we flew through the smooth and strong breeze. I didn't want to let him go. I rested my head on his shoulder as they got closer to Konoha. Was he flirting with me? I was unsure. It seemed like he was. He was overly sweet, did anything I asked, and vowed to protect me... Or maybe I was just over analyzing. Akatsuki seemed to be really close, maybe it was just the partnership, 'you scratch my back I scratch yours' type of thing.

Deidara smiled at me and let me lean on his shoulder the held me close. "Hold on tight, un." He said as he pushed down on the bird and it zoomed to the ground and he hopped off with me in his strong arms. "You ok, hn?" He asked.

I looked up at him and nodded. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was kinda.. nice?" I said smiling at him.

Deidara smiled and nodded. "Told you, un." he sad leaning back against the wall and watching me walk away, waiting for me to come back.

"Thanks. See you in a few minutes." I turned and walked off towards the village. They let me in without a fuss, mainly because they knew me and my headband, which had not yet been slashed like all the other Akatsuki members had. I went to find efficiently and failed. She wasn't in her office, outside, near it, in the hospital... She was nowhere to be found. I walked the long way, away from my house. I went into the records room which was stored near Tsuande-sama's office, and broke into the them, put all the relevant files into one folder, and ran off with them. I was already a criminal, why stop now? Once I slashed my headband it was official and I was in Akatsuki. I ran off and then went back to Deidara with it. "Got it." I declared proudly, lifting up the fat file that I only had a chance to skim though.

Deidara smiled. "Great." He said and hopped back onto his bird and wrapped an arm around me when I got on, so that I wouldn't fall off. Then motioned for the strong clay owl to go up, and it zoomed up into the air flapping it's wings on one of the currents, and we were up in they sky flying in a matter of seconds. He held onto it while holding me so they wouldn't fall off backwards when it went up.

Ino was a bit more used to it this time and just closed her eyes and held onto him tightly. "Thanks.." I said, reopening her my eyes and looking down, not as afraid as before. She trusted him, which is why she guessed Akatsuki was so strong. They all trusted one another, or where forced to in Itachi and Deidara's case. They worked together, they had two man cells, and worked quickly and efficiently. She guessed all of them where once in NABU or in running for it. She looked up at the sunset and smiled. "It's beautiful up here." She said, loosening her grip and looking around him. "Is this why you like it so much?"

Deidara smiled. "Un, and I feel free." He said looking at her then ahead of him as the breeze whipped through his hair once more, gently letting his mechanical eye come into view. He liked Ino she wasn't like any other partner he had.

Tobi... Tobi wasn't like all the other Akatsuki members, he was silly, goofy, and liked to joke around. He respected Deidara, calling him Senpai, meaning senior. Deidara thought all of Akatsuki should be serious, calm, and completely stern, but Tobi was the opposite. He was sweet, and unlike all the others. He reminded Deidara of the kid they had tried to catch, his name Naruto or something like that. Deidara never paid much attention. His bond with Tobi had become a sensei-student one.

A grin came to Deidara's face as he recalled lecturing Tobi about his over confidence, only to find that Tobi had fallen asleep. Needless to say, he had to wake his "student" with good "artistic bomb" to Tobi's ass.

Sasori... Sasori was hard to explain. He was complicated, different, and stern. He was quiet most of the time, and Itachi like in a way. He was "creepy," which Deidara teased him out jokingly. He was a puppet, not a human, and he was his own person. He used only puppets in battle was defeated by Haruno Sakura, and his grandmother, Chiyo, after they had kidnaped the Kazekage, Gaara form Suna and killed him by extracting Shukaku.

I smiled at him as his hair wiped through the wind. They did look a lot alike. Except his hair was a lot darker than mine. I leaned into him slightly and then looked at the sunset. My bangs wiped around her face and her ponytail tapped her back and she smiled at him again. The sunset was beautiful. It was bright, and from an arial view it was amazing. It took my breath away. The reds, oranges, yellows, it was to die for. I had never seen the sunset in the air or away from Konoha. We were in the middle of the woods and I couldn't help but maintain my smile. "Thanks Deidara... For showing me this amazing sight."

Deidara smiled at me. "I think you'll be the best partner I've ever had, un." She was beautiful and the way the sun was shining made her look like a goddess on Earth and he wasn't saying that just because she looked like him or something. He had heard a rumor that people fell in love with people that reminded them of themselves, which in his mind was disgusting. Who'd want to screw themselves?

I looked up the sun again and then sighed and smiled up at the sun. "It's beautiful out here..." I said, looking as the sun set over the horizon. "This is amazing..." I said happily. "I'm glad I ran away from Konoha. Otherwise I never would have seen this. And I would have never met you." I told him, slightly flirtatiously

Deidara smirked. "Yeah it is, and im kinda glad you ran away too, un. I mean I don't want you away from your home and friends but im glad I met you, un." he told me, smiling and looking at the sun, glancing at me slightly, out of the corner of his right eye.

I leaned into him a bit more. As much as I didn't want to fall in love with a criminal. This was really romantic. She closed her eyes and then smiled up at him

Deidara's smirk morphed into a sweet smile. "Hey Ino, hn? Doesn't the sun look like a giant bomb, hn?" He asked laughing slightly. He kept his arm around me. He really liked Ino, more than his heart would ever realize.

I nodded giggling slightly. "Yeah it does. A giant yellow bomb. How do you make your bombs anyway?" She asked, yawning slightly. It was starting to get late. Her day had been a pretty stressful one.

Deidara smiled and nodded. "Un, its awesome." He said smiling. "And I make the bombs with my hands." he said seeing how tired she was. He stopped his bird in front of their house and helped he off his bird and then put his hands together and it turned pocket size once more.

He walked me inside and then took my hand into his and showed me his hand. "I chew on it for a while, adding charka to it as I do so, when I do that, it makes it bomb like and I just use a simple hand seal to make it Katsu. _(Note: Katsu is a phrase that means detonation, Deidara says it when he sets off his bombs.)_

I smiled at him and leaned into his embrace and then walked inside with him and looked around the huge house. I smiled slightly. It was big and looked really comfortable. No wonder so many people where lining up to join Akatsuki. I didn't want to at first, but after seeing and spending time with Deidara, this seemed like a good idea. "Where's my room?"I asked, seeing the a few doors, unsure of which one to take. One was open and the other was closed. She just wanted to sleep for now.

Deidara pointed to the door on the right. "It's the one on the right, un." He said opening the door and laying her down on the bed. "Good night, un." he said walking out and into his own room. Deidara walked into his room and laid down on his bed and closed his eyes with a smile on his face. He sure would enjoy having ino as a partner. He liked her and he was going to protect her no matter what.

I walked into her room and laid down in the huge bed. It was amazing. The room was beautiful. It had architecture, amazing artwork and other things in it. I smiled and pulled the sheet up to my chin and closed my eyes, going to sleep.

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A/N: Don't forget to read and review! I hope you enjoyed. Chapter 3 will be coming soon. Sorry this one took so long! Work 


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